Gorilla Murders | National Geographic Channel on TUESDAY JULY 1, 10pm

WATCH IF YOU CAN


take a looky here



Who Murdered the Virunga Gorillas?

Heavily armed militias shatter the stillness in this central African park. Desperate refugees crowd park boundaries. Charcoal producers strip forests. Then, last summer, someone killed seven of these magnificent creatures in cold blood.

The killers waited until dark.

On July 22 of last year unknown assailants crouched in the forest, preparing to execute a family of gorillas. Hidden on a side slope of the Mikeno volcano in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, armed with automatic weapons, the killers had hunted down the twelve-member Rugendo family, well-known among tourists and well loved by the rangers of Virunga National Park. The patriarch of the gorilla family, a 500-pound silverback named Senkwekwe, would have sensed that the assailants were near, perhaps wrinkling his wide, black nose at their unfortunate smell, but he would not have been alarmed. Senkwekwe had seen thousands of people and had come to accept their proximity as irritating but unavoidable. So habituated to humans was the Rugendo family that the gorillas would occasionally wander out of the forest into cornfields for an impromptu picnic, angering local farmers.

Park rangers at the nearby Bukima barracks said they heard shots at eight that night. On foot patrol the next morning they found three female gorillas—Mburanumwe, Neza, and Safari—shot to death, with Safari's infant cowering nearby. The following day Senkwekwe was found dead: blasted through the chest that same night. Three weeks later the body of another Rugendo female, Macibiri, would be discovered, her infant presumed dead.

Just a month earlier, two females and an infant from another gorilla group had been attacked. The rangers had found one of the females, shot execution style in the back of the head; her infant, still alive, was clinging to her dead mother's breast. The other female was never found.

All told, seven Virunga mountain gorillas had been killed in less than two months. Brent Stirton's photographs of the dead creatures being carried like royalty by weeping villagers ran in newspapers and magazines around the world. The murders of these intelligent, unassuming animals the park rangers refer to as "our brothers" ignited international outrage.

Bloggy Stuff:

I am astonished, seriously.
Lastnight so much snot came out of my nose in one blow, that I was amazed.
I didn't think it was possible. I'm no being silly, I'm serious.
I started to feel kinda proud, like I should get my name in the record books.
Then I wondered if there was such a thing, maybe I'll be the first?
I didn't think all that stuff could even fit in there. Neither did my friend.

Amazing!


I'm realising how much I like Charlize Theron and how much I hate The Hogans-YUCK!

I'm also realising how much I miss having Tim Russert around, me being the news buff that I am, especially politics. God, I miss him and his soothing voice. I also realise that there will be yet another death (prolly heart-related as well). They come in 3's - so they say. Tim, George, and who's heart is a ticking time-bomb?
I don't know, that James Gandolfini from The Sopranos didn't look so hot the last time I saw him on TMZ.

I better never, from now on, "put off" seeing someone I like. You never know when their'll drop. Like I will never forgive myself for not making my way over to Bob Hope before he died. I use to collect his black & white 8x10 movie glossys and movies. I wanted a few things signed and to let him know how much he made me laugh when I needed it the most. I LOVE BOB HOPE!
I better go see Nick Cave, my sexy loverboy smokes like a train. I was going to see Boy George (yes, boy george) at The Ely Rey (I love the 80's music) but they won't renew his Visa, they won't let him in the country? haha. George Michael sold out before I could get my hands on any tickets!

I am reminiscing on all the lovely 80's music. Something made me think of Madonna. When she first came out, I was so into her. That's when she was good. I had all the posters from the magazines on my wall and I even dressed like her sometimes. Haha.
When I dig those photos up, they will be posted. I even had her hair! Haha.

I felt like watching this right now...

NOW THAT'S SOME GOOD SHIT!!!!!!!


The weird dreams keep coming in...
A few nights ago I was having a quarter- eating contest w/ Jerry Springer, (yes, Quarters!) I could hear them clinging in my stomach as I gulped them down. Jerry gave up & started interviewing me in the middle of the contest. Clapping me on were my parrents- Gene Simmons and his wife Shannon Tweed Haha. Wtf?

Don't ask. because I don't know.


One night I could not sleep and I thought of this, I saw on Oprah a few months back, I always wondered, sadly- now I know...(just watch the whole thing, it's about 5 min)



SAD. I KNOW. I CRIED LIKE A BABY.

People STILL don't get it.

You have got to watch this if you love Nick Cave. haha. this is great...

Nick Cave on high horse

A BIG bronze statue of Nick Cave might soon look down on Warracknabeal, just like the rock singer.

While mocking his birthplace as conservative and strangely lawless, Cave has long sought a statue.

The one he favours would show him bare-chested on a rearing stallion.

And after a new approach to the council, what seemed like a joke is gaining traction.

The council says it will look at the proposal and dares him to go the whole hog and build a 50m-high Nick Cave with a viewing platform.

Cave, famed for fronting seminal rock bands the Birthday Party and the Bad Seeds, has told a local paper he has already invited celebrity friends to the unveiling.

"Russell Crowe, my mate, has promised to attend," he told the Wimmera Mail Times by email. "Snoop Dogg, a rapper, says he'll come if they let him into the country.

"Kylie Minogue said she wouldn't miss it for the world; she even promised to wear her gold lame hotpants."

Yarriambiack Shire Mayor Andrew McLeod said the statue could be an added tourist attraction to the town.

Mr McLeod said the town, population 2600, had "a dry creek bed and a few dry lakes" for attractions.

He said the town wouldn't pay for a statue but "if he's internationally known, you'd say he'd be making more money than me".

Cave said the Warracknabeal statue would make Gundagai's Dog on the Tuckerbox pale by comparison.

He wants it on a roundabout, but the only one spare is earmarked for a statue of a dingo and her pups.

"I ask you, what could be more indigenous to Warracknabeal than me?" Cave complained to the paper. "I was bloody born there."

Shire chief executive Ray Campling said latest indications were that the Cave camp was serious.

"Why not go the full hog and erect a 50m statue of Nick riding a horse?" he said. "You could have a tourist information booth and people climbing up the horse's neck and viewing out of the nostrils."

George Carlin, Comic Who Chafed at Society and Its Constraints, Dies at 71

I been sick for the last few days, so I'm just blogging this now.

I got a text message from Jim on Sunday night when the news first broke on talk radio. Jim and Kate had tickets to go see George. I got the text and said "no way", then called him up. So, thanks for the heads-up Jim.

I remember when I was a little girl my dad listening to Toledo Window Box really loud. George's voice and the audience laughing would echo throughout the intire house. For some reason it made me feel good. I remember asking "Daddy, why is the man talking and not singing"? haha.
I even remember the album cover too. My dad and I listened to George throughout the years, he being one of my dad and I's favourite. One reason being is because he thought like we did and he cursed like a drunken sailor like I do. lol. and he's just fucking funny as all hell anyhow.
He will be missed by many people, including pops and I, whom I called when I heard about the tragic news. Dad told me all about that album I remembered and the story behind the weird-ass name title. *Do yourself a favor & go check out some of his work, if that doesn't put you in a good mood for the rest of the day, nothing will!

(Go back to when George Carlin had hair and "Saturday Night Live" was really, really funny)

Networks remembering George Carlin in classic reruns, specials

If you’re a fan of the late comedian George Carlin or a newbie wondering what all the fuss was about yesterday, you can relive the glory years or get an education in the next few days as two networks dig into their vaults for some classic Carlin.

HBO — the network that was always the first home to Carlin’s lengthy comic diatribes — will blow out a chronological marathon featuring 11 of the comedian’s specials for the cable channel. (He made at least a dozen.) First, HBO2, runs the following schedule of back-to-back specials:


Eleven of George Carlin's HBO specials will be rerun Wednesday and Thursday, and his inaugural "Saturday Night Live" hosting gig is back on NBC this weekend.


Wednesday

7 p.m.: “George Carlin at USC” (1977)
8:30 p.m.: “George Carlin Again!” (1978)
10 p.m.: “Carlin at Carnegie” (1983)
11 p.m.: “Carlin on Campus” (1984)
Midnight: “Playin’ with Your Head” (1986)

Thursday

7 p.m.: “What Am I Doing in New Jersey?” (1988)
8 p.m.: “Doin’ It Again” (1990)
9 p.m.: “Jammin’ in New York” (1992)
10 p.m.: “Back in Town” (1996)
11:05 a.m.: “You Are All Diseased” (1999)
Midnight: “It’s Bad for Ya” (2008)

The main HBO channel also will replay “It’s Bad for Ya,” which just debuted in March, at 9 p.m. Friday.

Then, “Saturday Night Live” pays tribute by rerunning its premiere episode from 1975, which featured Carlin as host. The show starts at 10:30 p.m. Saturday on WMAQ-Channel 5.

Remembering Carlin, "Saturday Night Live" creator and executive producer Lorne Michaels said in a statement: "You never forget the people who were there at the beginning. George Carlin helped give 'Saturday Night Live' its start as our first host. He was gracious, fearless, and most important of all, funny."

Carlin performs three individual monologues on the program. Music guests are Janis Ian and Billy Preston, plus a landmark performance from comedian Andy Kaufman.
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'He was one funny motherfucker'
Tributes to George Carlin

HBO Comedians have been paying their tributes to George Carlin, hailing his influence in transforming stand-up into an insightful, passionate artform.

‘He was one funny motherfucker,’ Robin Williams said, employing one of the Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television from the controversial routine that helped make Carlin’s name.

‘He dealt with the insanity of the world with the one-two punch of humour and honesty with no apologies,’ Williams added.

Carlin died of heart failure on Sunday night at the age of 71. He was admitted to a Santa Monica hospital complaining of chest pain, and died soon afterwards. He had been working to the end – with his last gig in Las Vegas just last weekend – and had been planning a summer tour.

Carlin started in the Fifties with a conservative nightclub routine, but after seeing Lenny Bruce, he started forging the harder-hitting routine about drugs and the counterculture that engaged with a new generation – even though changing his act cost him lucrative work at the time.

He later said: ‘I was doing superficial comedy entertaining people who didn’t really care: Businessmen, people in nightclubs, conservative people. And I had been doing that for the better part of ten years when it finally dawned on me that I was in the wrong place doing the wrong things for the wrong people.’

Jack Burns, who was the other half of a comedy duo with Carlin in those nightclub years, said: ‘He was a genius, and I will miss him dearly.’

Other tributes to Carlin include

Jay Leno: ‘Before George, comedians aspired to put on nice suits and perform in Las Vegas. George rebelled against that life. His comedy took on privilege and elitism He never lost that fire. May he continue to inspire young people never to accept the status quo.’

Ben Stiller: ‘He had an amazing mind, and his humour was brave and always challenging us to look at ourselves and question our belief systems, while being incredibly entertaining. He was one of the greats. If there was ever a comedian who was a voice of their generation it was George Carlin’

Joan Rivers: ‘His legacy to comedy is to tell the truth. Because the truth is hilarious... . This man never compromised, and that's a great thing to say about a comedian.’

Judy Tenuta: ‘This comic genius… so profoundly influenced me and every comic working today. The world has lost the Picasso of modern stand-up.’

Wanda Sykes: ‘ We have lost one of the last founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Well, at least now Pryor will have somebody who can make him laugh.’

Sarah Silverman: ‘George Carlin was a pioneer who continued to be vital and relevant til the day he died. He was cutting edge without sacrificing heart or passion.’

Ellen DeGeneres: ‘In a profession where some look for the easy laugh and cheap shot, George not only made us laugh, but his humour made us think.’

HBO: ‘No performer was more committed to the ideal of freedom of speech, a principle he embodied for the 50 years he performed. We will miss his humour and his righteous comic anger, and we will simply miss him.’

Bill Maher: ‘When I was thinking about being a comedian, George was my inspiration. He had a level of guts and fearlessness than nobody can match. Right to the end. In fact, the older he got, the more he didn't give a fuck.’

Lewis Black: ‘He was pulling us out of the Fifties mentality, which persists today. He did his best to try to help us grow up as a people. He said, “Can we mature a little? Can we be smarter than we’re acting?” The loss leaves a huge hole. We’re just not as funny any more.’

Last week it was announced that Carlin would receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and yesterday it was confirmed that the presentation would still go ahead posthumously, as a ‘funny celebration’ of Carlin’s career. Mark Krantz, executive producer of the award show, said: ‘He has a 50-year career to look back on. He was the first host of Saturday Night Live; he did 130 Johnny Carson shows’ he did 13 or more HBO specials, and he won four Grammys.’

Carlin will be best known for his controversial Seven Words You Can Never Say On Television routine. He was arrested for obscenity for performing it in 1972, but its later airing on a New York radio station led to a groundbreaking US Supreme Court case in 1978, which led to a nationwide 10pm watershed for indecent material.

Of the case, Carlin said: ‘My name is a footnote in American history, which I'm perversely kind of proud of.’

The iconoclastic former cocaine addict had recorded 18 albums of stand-up, was the first ever host of Saturday Night Live – and provided the voiceover for Thomas The Tank Engine in the States. He had previously suffered a heart attack in the Eighties, and had undergone two open-heart surgeries.
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Remembering George on LARRY KING LIVE (all 4 parts and all other videos)-
to watch click me!

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Haha. I found these great George Carlin quotes:

Always do whatever's next.
George Carlin

At a formal dinner party, the person nearest death should always be seated closest to the bathroom.
George Carlin

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
George Carlin

By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.
George Carlin

Death is caused by swallowing small amounts of saliva over a long period of time.
George Carlin

Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things.
George Carlin

Dusting is a good example of the futility of trying to put things right. As soon as you dust, the fact of your next dusting has already been established.
George Carlin

Electricity is really just organized lightning.
George Carlin

Fighting for peace is like screwing for virginity.
George Carlin

Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.
George Carlin

Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
George Carlin

"I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?
George Carlin

I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it.
George Carlin

I recently went to a new doctor and noticed he was located in something called the Professional Building. I felt better right away.
George Carlin

I think it would be interesting if old people got anti-Alzheimer's disease where they slowly began to recover other people's lost memories.
George Carlin

I think people should be allowed to do anything they want. We haven't tried that for a while. Maybe this time it'll work.
George Carlin

I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot more as they get older; then it dawned on me - they're cramming for their final exam.
George Carlin

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin

I would never want to be a member of a group whose symbol was a guy nailed to two pieces of wood.
George Carlin

I'm always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realize I'm listening to it.
George Carlin

I'm completely in favor of the separation of Church and State. My idea is that these two institutions screw us up enough on their own, so both of them together is certain death.
George Carlin

I'm not concerned about all hell breaking loose, but that a PART of hell will break loose... it'll be much harder to detect.
George Carlin

If God had intended us not to masturbate he would've made our arms shorter.
George Carlin

If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.
George Carlin

If we could just find out who's in charge, we could kill him.
George Carlin

If you can't beat them, arrange to have them beaten.
George Carlin

In comic strips, the person on the right always speaks first.
George Carlin

Inside every cynical person, there is a disappointed idealist.
George Carlin

Just cause you got the monkey off your back doesn't mean the circus has left town.
George Carlin

May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.
George Carlin

Most people work just hard enough not to get fired and get paid just enough money not to quit.
George Carlin

Not only do I not know what's going on, I wouldn't know what to do about it if I did.
George Carlin

One can never know for sure what a deserted area looks like.
George Carlin

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
George Carlin

People who say they don't care what people think are usually desperate to have people think they don't care what people think.
George Carlin

Religion is just mind control.
George Carlin

Some people see things that are and ask, Why? Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.
George Carlin

Standing ovations have become far too commonplace. What we need are ovations where the audience members all punch and kick one another.
George Carlin

The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.
George Carlin

The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.
George Carlin

The reason I talk to myself is that I'm the only one whose answers I accept.
George Carlin

The status quo sucks.
George Carlin

The very existence of flame-throwers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.
George Carlin

There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
George Carlin

There's no present. There's only the immediate future and the recent past.
George Carlin

Think off-center.
George Carlin

Weather forecast for tonight: dark.
George Carlin

Well, if crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fire, what do freedom fighters fight? They never mention that part to us, do they?
George Carlin

What does it mean to pre-board? Do you get on before you get on?
George Carlin

When someone is impatient and says, "I haven't got all day," I always wonder, How can that be? How can you not have all day?
George Carlin

When Thomas Edison worked late into the night on the electric light, he had to do it by gas lamp or candle. I'm sure it made the work seem that much more urgent.
George Carlin

When you step on the brakes your life is in your foot's hands.
George Carlin

When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat.
George Carlin

You know an odd feeling? Sitting on the toilet eating a chocolate candy bar.
George Carlin

You know the good part about all those executions in Texas? Fewer Texans.
George Carlin

HEADS UP - Los Angeles Concerts...

JULY
Tue 7/1 Ours @ The Roxy
Tue 7/1 We Are Scientists w/ Cut Off Your Hands & The Blood Arm @ El Rey (ENTER TO WIN TICKETS)
Wed 7/2 Todd Rundgren @ Key Club
Thu 7/3 Constantines @ Troubadour
Thu 7/3 We Are Scientists @ Glass House
Sat 7/5 The Reverend Horton Heat w/ Nashville Pussy & The Supersuckers @ House of Blues
Mon 7/7 American Idols Live Tour 2008 @ Staples Center (Tickets on sale 5/14)
Mon 7/7 Princeton @ Silverlake Lounge (Mondays in July residency)
Mon 7/7 Stevie Wonder @ Hollywood Bowl
Mon 7/7 Yaz @ Paramount Theatre, Oakland (A short drive through California Central Coast Wine Country)
Tue 7/8 Yaz @ Orpheum Theatre
Wed 7/9 ((sounder)) w/ w/Ivan & Alyosha and Empty Rooms @ Silverlake Lounge
Thu 7/10 Rocklahoma Festival @ A Field In Pryor, Oklahoma (More Hair Metal Than You Knew Existed)
Thu 7/10 The Gutter Twins w/ Ed Harcourt @ The Roxy
Thu 7/10 Tilly & The Wall @ Echoplex
Thu 7/10 Tilly & The Wall @ Echoplex
Thu 7/10 Yaz @ Orpheum Theatre
Fri 7/11 Albert Hammond Jr. @ Spaceland (On sale Fri 6/20 12 pm)
Fri 7/11 Maria Taylor w/ Jonathan Rice @ Echoplex
Fri 7/11 Yaz @ Orpheum Theatre
Sat 7/12 Drum Downtown @ Music Center Plaza (Bring your own percussion - 10-11:30 am - free)
Sat 7/12 Hieroglyphics, Blue Scholars, Knobody @ El Rey (Freshly Dipped Tour)
Sat 7/12 Ratatat @ Echoplex
Sat 7/12 Supergrass @ Avalon
Sat 7/12 The Who w/ Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters & The Flaming Lips @ Pauley Pavillion UCLA (VH1 Rock Honors show)
Mon 7/14 Princeton @ Silverlake Lounge (Mondays in July residency)
Tue 7/15 Boy George @ El Rey (Performing Culture Club hits)
Tue 7/15 Coldplay @ The Forum (KROQ tickets presale Fri 6/6 10 am -- password: VIVALAKROQ)
Tue 7/15 Joseph Arthur @ Troubadour (last time we saw him @ troub, he blew the power out)
Wed 7/16 Boy George @ El Rey (Performing Culture Club hits)
Wed 7/16 Journey, Heart & Cheap Trick @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
Thu 7/17 Harry and the Potters @ Troubadour
Fri 7/18 Bitter:Sweet @ El Rey
Fri 7/18 Pitchfork Music Festival @ Union Park, Chicago, IL (Animal Collective, !!!, Spiritualized, M. Ward, Public Enemy doing It Takes a Nation of Millions)
Fri 7/18 Wolf Parade @ Henry Fonda
Sat 7/19 Coldplay @ MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas (Tickets On Sale 5/17 10 am)
Sat 7/19 Hard Summer Music Festival @ Shrine Expo Center (N.E.R.D, MSTRKRFT, Spank Rock, Kid Sister, A-Trak, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beetroots, Kill The Noize & more)
Sat 7/19 Wolf Parade @ Henry Fonda
Sat 7/19 Yo Majesty @ Troubadour
Sun 7/20 Feist w/ Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings @ Hollywood Bowl
Sun 7/20 Jimmy Eat World @ The Wiltern
Sun 7/20 Yeasayer, Kaki King, Caribou, M83, RJD2, Mates of State, Tapes n' Tapes & More @ Gibson Amphitheatre (2008 Download Festival)
Mon 7/21 Princeton @ Silverlake Lounge (Mondays in July residency)
Wed 7/23 Hercules & Love Affair @ The Echo
Wed 7/23 Steely Dan @ Nokia Theater
Sat 7/26 Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ The Echo
Sun 7/27 Gnarls Barkley w/ Deerhoof @ Hollywood Bowl
Sun 7/27 John Mayer @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (American Express tickets presale through 4/18)
Sun 7/27 The Secret Machines @ Viper Room (new date)
Mon 7/28 ((sounder)) w/ Princeton @ Silverlake Lounge
Mon 7/28 Bloc Party w/ Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ Glass House (On sale Fri 5/3 12 pm)
Mon 7/28 Princeton @ Silverlake Lounge (Mondays in July residency)
Tue 7/29 Bloc Party w/ Does It Offend You, Yeah? @ Mayan Theatre (On sale Fri 5/2 10 am)
Wed 7/30 Chromeo @ Henry Fonda (On sale 5/10 10am)
Wed 7/30 The Hold Steady w/ The Loved Ones @ Avalon (On sale 5/20)
Thu 7/31 John Mellencamp w/ Lucinda Williams @ Greek Theatre



AUGUST
Fri 8/1 The Subways @ Troubadour
Sat 8/2 Motley Crue et al (Crue Fest) @ Glen Helen Pavilion
Sat 8/2 Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band @ Greek Theatre
Sat 8/2 Serj Tankian @ The Wiltern
Sun 8/3 Boris w/ Torche @ Echoplex
Sun 8/3 Reggae Night VII @ Hollywood Bowl (feat. UB40)
Wed 8/6 Steve Miller Band & Joe Cocker @ Nokia Theater
Wed 8/6 The Enemy @ Troubadour
Wed 8/6 Ting Tings @ El Rey
Thu 8/7 The Faint @ Henry Fonda
Fri 8/8 All Points West @ Liberty State Park, NJ (Radiohead Night 1)
Fri 8/8 All Points West @ Liberty State Park, NJ (Three Day Pass)
Fri 8/8 Dr. Dog w/ Delta Spirit @ El Rey
Fri 8/8 Kidz Bop Live @ Royce Hall
Fri 8/8 The Faint @ Henry Fonda
Sat 8/9 All Points West @ Liberty State Park, NJ (Radiohead Night 2)
Sat 8/9 Drum Downtown @ Music Center Plaza (Bring your own percussion - 10-11:30 am - free)
Sun 8/10 All Points West @ Liberty State Park, NJ (Jack Johnson Night)
Sun 8/10 Projekt Revolution @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater (Linkin Park, Chris Cornell, The Bravery, Busta Rhymes & more)
Fri 8/15 Gipsy Kings @ Greek Theatre
Fri 8/15 The Aquabats @ Glass House
Sat 8/16 Gipsy Kings @ Greek Theatre
Tue 8/19 Dave Matthews Band @ Staples Center
Wed 8/20 Dave Matthews Band @ Staples Center
Thu 8/21 The Walkmen @ Troubadour
Fri 8/22 Cafe Tacuba @ Greek Theatre
Fri 8/22 Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Tom Petty)
Fri 8/22 Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (VIP package)
Fri 8/22 Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Friday: Radiohead, Beck, Manu Chao, the Black Keys)
Fri 8/22 The Walkmen @ Troubadour
Sat 8/23 Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Saturday: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Ben Harper)
Sun 8/24 Outside Lands Festival @ Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (Sunday: Jack Johnson, Wilco, Widespread Panic)
Sun 8/24 Radiohead w/ Liars @ Hollywood Bowl (Tickets on sale 4/12 10 am)
Mon 8/25 Bon Iver @ Troubadour (for the non Radiohead in you)
Mon 8/25 Radiohead w/ Liars @ Hollywood Bowl (Tickets on sale 4/12 10 am)
Mon 8/25 Stars @ Ford Amphitheatre
Tue 8/26 Bon Iver @ Troubadour
Sat 8/30 Long Beach Blues Festival @ Rainbow Lagoon Park (Chuck Berry, John Mayall & more)
Sun 8/31 Jack Johnson @ UCLA Intramural Field (Ryan's Pick)
Sun 8/31 Long Beach Blues Festival @ Rainbow Lagoon Park (Sly & The Family Stone, Booker T. & more)



SEPTEMBER
Tue 9/2 Sons and Daughters @ Troubadour
Sat 9/6 Virgin Fest Toronto @ Olympic Island (Foo Fighters Headlining; Ferry Inclusive)
Sat 9/6 Virgin Fest Toronto @ Olympic Island (Two-Day Pass)
Sun 9/7 Virgin Fest Toronto @ Olympic Island (Oasis Headlining; Ferry Inclusive)
Tue 9/9 Mogwai w/ Fuck Buttons @ The Wiltern
Wed 9/10 Built to Spill @ Troubadour (Performing Perfect From Now On)
Thu 9/11 Built to Spill @ Troubadour
Fri 9/12 Brian Wilson @ Hollywood Bowl (Fireworks Finale: Celebrating Summer with...)
Sat 9/13 Brian Wilson @ Hollywood Bowl (Fireworks Finale: Celebrating Summer with...)
Sun 9/14 Brian Wilson @ Hollywood Bowl (Fireworks Finale: Celebrating Summer with...)
Wed 9/17 Nick Cave & The Seeds That Are Bad w/ Spiritualized & Cat Power @ Hollywood Bowl
Wed 9/17 The Black Crowes w/ G. Love AND Special Sauce @ Greek Theatre
Wed 9/17 Vampire Weekend @ The Wiltern
Thu 9/18 Vampire Weekend @ The Wiltern
Sat 9/20 Beck, Spoon, MGMT @ Hollywood Bowl (Presale password: bowl)
Sun 9/21 Hot Chip @ The Wiltern (presale may 20; password: readyforthefloor)
Sun 9/21 My Morning Jacket @ Greek Theatre
Sun 9/21 Ozomatli, Michael Franti, Lila Downs, Nortec Collective @ Hollywood Bowl
Mon 9/22 CSS w/ SSION @ Mayan Theatre
Mon 9/22 Hot Chip @ The Wiltern (presale may 20; password: readyforthefloor)
Mon 9/22 The Raconteurs w/ The Kills @ Greek Theatre (On sale Sat 6/7)
Tue 9/23 CSS w/ SSION @ Mayan Theatre
Tue 9/23 Okkervil River @ Henry Fonda
Wed 9/24 CSS w/ SSION @ Glass House
Thu 9/25 The Raconteurs w/ The Kills @ Santa Barbara Bowl
Fri 9/26 ACL Festival @ Zilker Park, Austin, TX (Sep 26-28)
Mon 9/29 Calexico @ Henry Fonda

Steve's Jungle Girl embraces statuette, Bindi wins an Emmy! ;o)

Since the death of her dad two years ago, Bindi Irwin has carried on the family name in the show "Bindi the Jungle Girl". The show earned her an Emmy nod, so she takes Access on a search for the perfect Emmy fashion.




BINDI Irwin was so excited at winning an Emmy she took the statuette to bed with her and wanted to carry it back to Australia on the plane.

Family friend, manager and producer of the award-winning Bindi: The Jungle Girl series, John Stainton, said from New York yesterday that the Emmy win on the back of Bindi's Australian silver Logie in May was "just fantastic".

"She (Bindi) keeps her feet on the ground but she wouldn't let go of that Emmy all night and wanted to have it on the plane - but there are two sharp ends so I don't think they'll let her take it on board," he said.

Mr Stainton, who also produced the Crocodile Hunter shows for Bindi's father Steve, who was killed by a stingray while filming off north Queensland in 2006, said Bindi had been thrilled about just being a nominee and a presenter for the Daytime Entertainer Emmy Awards on Sunday in New York.

Up against popular talent for the category of Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series - including Jack Hanna for Into the Wild and Kevin Clash as Elmo in Sesame Street - Bindi and her mother Terri did not think the pint-sized Aussie could win, Mr Stainton said.

"It was unbelievable to see her face when she won - it was shock," he said.

"Steve would have been beaming. He was always saying he really wanted more than anything else for Bindi to take over from him and here she was being recognised around the world."

Mr Stainton said Bindi usually had to be in bed by 9pm but Terri had promised her "anything under the sun from room service" if she won.

"Robert (Bindi's four-year-old brother) was waiting up so they ordered all sorts of stuff - cakes and pies, sweet stuff."

He said there would be more shows coming that would strengthen Bindi's conservation message.

"She is the only little girl in the world championing wildlife," Mr Stainton said.

Tori Amos splits with label, goes indie

Wow! WTF? I am so out of the loop with the Tori world and her latest news and how I found this article was just luck. I was fixing up my blogger account and added a new page element (a news feed) and BAM, there it was. I actually thought it was old news, I opened the link and closed it without a second thought, thinking it was an old article about her split with Alantic. haha. It was not until I opened it a second time and read the title and saw the word INDIE, then I yelled "alright, it's about time". Fuck yes Tori, now that's the old Tori I fucking miss and love. That's my girl! I sure am happy about this news. * I should really go to her sites every now and again, because like I said, This was pure luck I found this...

When I give up on someone, I give up. and don't bother to see what's up with them. I think I should have a look at her site today. Who knows this may be old news?

-haha. It is old news, hey only by 3 weeks! I just went to undented, man- I should look more often. Seriously!

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Tori Amos has ended her six-year tenure with Epic Records, calling on her fellow artists to "stop being dependent ... on any system that has become undependable."

The singer/songwriter, 44, released three albums on Epic, most recently 2007's "American Doll Posse," which hit No. 5 on the Billboard 200.

Before that, she was with Atlantic from 1992 until 2001, when she joined artists such as Rod Stewart, Poe and Collective Soul in leaving the label.

In a statement on her Web site, Amos said she looked forward to crossing into "the new unchartered Music Frontier," where the impossible will soon become possible.

"Artists need not fear structure, we just have to design and partner with expansive ideas," she said. "It is time for us as artists to stop being dependent, dependent on any system that has become undependable. Only then can we help to create a new system that propagates and secures independence for each creator."

Amos' next album, due in spring 2009, will be "a project of new music and visuals which is being started in the summer," Amos' manager John Witherspoon told Billboard.com.

Amos is also writing a musical for the British National Theater, "The Light Princess," and in July will unveil a graphic novel, "Comic Book Tattoo," based on her catalog.


I took this from Undented-
______________________________________
It's Official: Epic Changes For Tori, Inc.!

After 22 years of being in the shackles of the major label system, Tori has chosen the path of independence for her next work. As with many of her contemporaries Tori is devising new and exciting ways of getting her music to the masses without the boundaries and limitations of the major music companies.

Last week, several people wrote in to say that Tori was no longer listed on Epic Records’ roster. Not knowing if it was the real deal, a big goof-up or an honest mistake, we weren’t really sure what to say about it. But, with those words in this week’s Ask Billboard, Tori’s manager John Witherspoon publicly opens the door on the latest significant development in Tori’s career. Whether this means free digital copies of albums like Issa (Jane Siberry), Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails or something else entirely different, only time will tell, but one thing is for sure: it means more freedom — something she’s been fighting for since Little Earthquakes — and that’s certainly a good thing for her and her artistry. (Interestingly, Tori touched on this subject in an interview broadcast on Polish radio last December. Foreshadowing much?)

Witherspoon also drops a few more juicy tidbits as well.

It seems that Tori will start working on a “project of new music and visuals” this Summer with an expected release in Spring 2009. Although a bit vague, we would guess this is not the American Doll Posse tour DVD since he indicates this is a new material. However, we don’t know any more about the status of the DVD than the rest of you and that’s only speculation.

Additionally, Witherspoon explains Matt Chamberlain’s recent sojourn to Cornwall: he was recording demos for The Light Princess, the musical that Tori is working on with Samuel Adamson for the United Kingdom’s National Theatre. (By the way, as he notes on his website, Matt’s back from Cornwall after spending “an amazing” two weeks at Martian Studios.)

Tim Russert- 1950-2008

I been meaning to blog this since Friday. I watched him all the time on Public Television. He was a fav. of mine. Different. I miss him. ohhh Thunder Road...

I LOVE Flipping Out with Jeff Lewis!! *My OCD brother

YES! I am so thrilled that one of my Fav. shows on the tele is back on for a second season on Bravo. Tuesday Nights at 9/10pm. I wasn't even aware of it until I saw a commercial. I am sooo stoked! Jeff and I are so much alike, we have so much in commom, even down to the "NO ONIONS, I said NO ONIONS!" part. Haha. We organize out cubboards and fridge the same way. Want our coffe at 140. There are so many things I crack up about because while everyone else around him thinks he's just mad, I totally understand and get the guy. I love me some Jeff Lewis! You should tune in!

www.bravotv.com/Flipping_Out

Meet the peeps-
Jeff Lewis

Ryan

Jenni Pulos

Chris Elwood

Zoila

Chris Keslar

and we can't forget MONKEEEY!!


haha. I love him! He's fucking great...







About the show

The second season of Bravo's hit series "Flipping Out" returns with everyone's favorite obsessive-compulsive house-flipper, Jeff Lewis. It takes a special kind of personality to handle flipping six multimillion-dollar houses at one time, but Lewis, one of Los Angeles' most colorful creative renovators and real estate speculators, pulls it off and turns a six-figure profit on every property. With the soft market teaching flippers new lessons as home sales decline, there's never a dull moment for Lewis and his intriguing cast of characters. Lewis makes his living with the help of a group of diverse and often disgruntled employees he counts as friends. These include an assistant who moonlights doing voiceover work, a housekeeper and two house assistants, as well as his official "trash man," who moonlights as an actor and his assistant's husband. Add to the mix his business partner and former boyfriend, his various therapists and spiritual advisors and it's clear that this intriguing cast of characters lives as one big dysfunctional family.

Like most families, Lewis' extended family has its share of issues, which results in the occasional confrontation and even a firing or two. Aware of his "Flipping Out" tendencies, Lewis attempts to counteract them with therapy, spiritual healers, psychics, and other advisors, but things are always flipping in Lewis' world. "Let's face it, the people I have working for me aren't necessarily the most qualified individuals," notes Lewis. "But the people that take care of me and my home and my pets are the most important part of this business. They can't leave. I can't do this without them."

Each day comes with a new barrage of problems - from dealing with suspicions of his staff (that leads him to install a nanny cam on site), while trying to turn over a new leaf, exercise patience and treat his staff with dignity. But, as Jenni says "it's a long process." Lewis also must contend with market fluctuations, since three of his projects have yet to flip, driving him to expand his business and pick up property renovations instead. Lewis is forced to work for others (which he hates), but in his own inimitable style takes on massive multimillion remodeling jobs.

Gore endorses Obama (yes! yes! yes!)

...But I already knew this would happen ;o)






Gore endorses Obama and attacks Bush in Detroit (Hurrah on BOTH!)

DETROIT (AP) — Al Gore is making his debut on the 2008 presidential campaign trail in support of Barack Obama. Gore appeared with the Democratic presidential candidate Monday night at a raucous rally at Detroit's Joe Lewis Arena. His speech was part endorsement, part blistering attack on President Bush.

Gore said Obama can lead the country past "eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure." He said Bush, who defeated him in the 2000 election, dishonored and disrespected the Constitution and made the worst foreign policy mistakes in the nation's history.

Gore won the popular vote in the 2000 race, but lost the presidency after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush in the disputed Florida election. Gore said, "Take it from me, elections matter."